Dealer Versus Aftermarket: The Fight Is On

There are two kinds of shops looking for your repair dollars, the Dealer and the independent repair shop. The dealer charges about $80.00 an hour for labor and the independent shop charges about $65.00 an hour. Each is good and can effectively service your vehicle, but they do have differences. This week I want to talk about those differences.

The Dealer…

Lets begin by seeing the strengths of the dealer, beginning with the technicians. The technicians at a dealer are specialists. They are trained by the factory and work almost exclusively on your particular make and model of vehicle. These technicians are on an ongoing training program that not only includes the technicians, but the service manager and service support staff.

The manufacturers provide this training only to their dealers.

The dealers pay for these training programs fully, or in part, to keep up with the latest developments and techniques in service and repair of your vehicles. A well-trained and experienced technician is the biggest asset a dealer, and it's service customers, has.

To keep these technicians and to remain competitive, the dealers generally offer higher salaries. Benefit programs and incentives can also be offered to not only keep the technicians they have, but to attract new technicians. These costs are passed on to the customer in the form of a higher hourly labor rate.

Another strength is the dealer's service facility. This includes all the equipment needed to service and repair your vehicle. The dealer gets help from the manufacturer with start up costs and equipment needed with building a dealer facility. This means they have more cash available that translates to more money spent on the latest equipment that means better service to meet the customers' needs.

This includes, mostly, of special tools from the manufacturer that are initially made available only to the dealers. These special tools increase the quality of service to the customer.